U.S. stock futures were higher Tuesday morning as oil dropped $8 a barrel following little damage to oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico from Gustav. Tuesday marks the return of many from the holiday weekend and the beginning of the school year. While oil will undoubtedly be the focus today, construction spending and ISM Index numbers are also due.Korea Development Bank is in talks to buy a stake in Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LEH), Bloomberg reports. LEH shares are climbing over 5.5% in pre-market trading after CEO of the Korean bank confirmed the discussions. According to the Sunday Telegraph, KDB could inject as much as $6 billion of additional capital into Lehman. No doubt, this is something Fuld has been hoping for following the massive writedowns Lehman took. But is it something Americans wants as more foreign government-backed firms buy into Wall Street companies.
Meanwhile, the internet is abuzz over Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG)'s introduction Tuesday of its own internet browser, Chrome, as it further butts heads with Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT). While Microsoft has its Internet Explorer, other browsers exist, including the popular Mozilla's Firefox. Google claims its browser is designed better to show web applications and provide higher protection. GOOG shares are climbing over 1.5% in pre-market trading on the news.
Meanwhile, Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) revamped its top management on Tuesday and named a former BT boss Ben Verwaayen as its new chief executive and Lagardere executive Philippe Camus as its new chairman. ALU shares are down about 1.5% in pre-market trading.
And at Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) things don't seem to progress much as it is "locked in a standoff over a proposed three-year labor contract," with its largest union, according to the Wall Street Journal. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers may vote on Wednesday to go on a strike, effectively shutting Boeing's airplane factories. With Boeing already behind with its new Dreamliner schedule, this would just hurt it more.
FORTUNE reports that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone talks in China are in advanced stages. It quotes state-controlled 21st Century Business Herald, which reported talks between Apple and China Mobile (NYSE: CHL) are in their "final stage."
General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) announced it has opened a second plant in India Tuesday, boosting its production capacity in the country from 85,000 to 225,000 vehicles a year. GM keeps investing money in developing countries, hoping growth there would help revive the troubled carmaker. GM shares are up 4.5% in pre-market trading.
Analyst calls:
- Piper Jaffray added Apple to its Alpha List, indicating it believes AAPL stock price would appreciate at least 5% over the next 90 days. Piper's Gene Munster reiterates his Buy rating and $250 price target on three potential catalysts: historical performance, aggressive back-to-school promotion, iPhone's international rollout.
- Goldmam Sachs upgraded Lowe's Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW) from Neutral to Buy and upped its price target from $27 to $28 per share.
- Banc of America downgraded Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD) from Buy to Neutral and lowered price target to $56.
- Morgan Stanley downgraded Dean Foods (NYSE: DF) from Overweight to Equal Weight.
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